European Operators Advance Open RAN Targets

European Operators Advance Open RAN Targets
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Some of Europe’s largest operators updated a list of priority technical requirements for open RAN systems. They are adding new goals on an initial document released in 2021 and moving the project to a more advanced stage.

The Open RAN Technical Priorities Release 2 document focuses on intelligence, orchestration, transport, and cloud infrastructure, though did not set a specific timetable. In the document, the operators explained the latest version aims to promote a fully automated and interoperable open RAN system.

The first document was published in 2021 and covered the joint requirements of Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, and Vodafone Group. Orange stated other aspects of open RAN have now been addressed including energy efficiency goals and targets around sustainable open RAN deployments.

The operators have also produced a document, covering aspects including risk-based threat modeling and remediation analysis conducted within the O-RAN Alliance for building an effective security architecture. In November 2021, the operators urged European authorities to take immediate action to stimulate the open RAN sector to ensure the continent does not lag North America and Asia.